In old Hollywood, that sold the appearance of sophistication, Powell was the sophisticate’s sophisticate. No one was smoother. He was class personified. I like him in any movie, even when the movie is not so good. No matter the part, Powell made it better.
Powell’s breakout role was as detective Philo Vance in a series of four films, but those have been eclipsed by his superior run as Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, and no film series is better. I can watch them over and over and they are always a joy. The first film is based on a Dashiell Hammett novel although is not a Film Noir, but a mystery nearing comedy. His co-star was Myrna Loy as Nora Charles and their collaboration was so successful that they were in fourteen films together. Five of my eight choices below are Powell/Loy films, and if I doubled the size of the list, a majority of the additions would include the pair.
Honorable mentions go to Life with Father (1947) and the rest of the Thin Man films. I could as easily have put two more Thin Man movies (Shadow and Song) on the list, but since it was close I decided to side with the non-Thin Man films just for the sake of diversity.
#8 – How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) – An older Powell plays 4th banana to Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable. It’s candy floss, but tasty.
#7 – I Love You Again (1940) – It may not be a Thin Man movie, but it’s still Powell and Loy. This time Powell has been an obnoxiously straight-laced boor who wakes up after a blow on the head to realize he’s had amnesia for years, and is really a con artist. He decides to take advantage of his social position but is thrown off when he discovers he’s married to Loy but she plans to divorce him. [Also on the Myrna Loy list]
#6 – Libeled Lady (1936) – Powell and Loy again in a four-way romantic comedy with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow. Powell is hired to stop Loy from suing a newspaper for libel any way that he can. [Also on the Myrna Loy list]
#5 – Another Thin Man (1939) – The third Thin Man film and its nearly as good as the first two. Nick and Nora have to deal with murder connected to Nora’s father’s business partner. Like the others, it is great fun. [Also on the Myrna Loy list]
#4 – Mister Roberts (1955) – This layered dramady was Powell’s last role. Henry Fonda is the lead and Jack Lemmon and Jimmy Cagney get the best lines, but Powell gets enough to do in a fantastic film that it is a fine send off for him. [Also on the Jack Lemmon list]
#3 – After the Thin Man (1936) – Much like the first Thin Man film, but with Jimmy Stewart added. Taking place soon after that film, the pair is summoned by Nora’s snobbish family because a husband is missing and Aunt Katherine wants to avoid scandal. The relationship is wonderful, the humor is spot on, and the mystery is engaging. I would place it #2, but originality does count. [Also on the Myrna Loy list]
#2 – My Man Godfrey (1936) – One of the great screwball comedies–and for my money, the greatest–it is zany and wild, but also has some depth dealing with social inequity. Powell is a “forgotten man” with a secret, found by rich, pampered society girls as part of a game. He ends up as their butler.
#1 – The Thin Man (1934) – She’s a rich socialite; he’s a retired detective (now living the high life on her money) who gets sucked into a murder case. Funny and charming, this introduction of Nick and Nora Charles is as good a time as you can have at the cinema. I lucked out, getting to see it on a big screen around 50 years after its release. The mystery stuff is good, but it is the husband and wife interactions that make this film special; they are my favorite couple after Gomez And Morticia Addams. [Also on the Myrna Loy list and on the Maureen O’Sullivan list]